Tried Oestrogen gel but had to stop, what else is there to try?

[Diamond25]

I am peri menopausal & saw a female GP. I was prescribe oestrogen gel & progesterone to take on days 15-26 as patches not available. I do suffer with depression, headaches & migraines. I am 50 years old.

I only lasted a week on the gel. Anything hormonal usually makes my depression worse or affects me . I felt my mood really dip & my head was just all over the place. I kept forgetting things & was crying for no reason. Pregnancy always made my depression worse. I also have low iron.

I am currently 85 days late. My longest cycle was 145 days.

My headaches & migraines have been worse the last 18 months & I have insomnia. When I do get my period it’s very heavy with flooding. I also get a migraine on the 5th day that lasts 9 days. I get mild hot flushes too.

I do take meds for my depression. Is there anything else I could try?

I know this is not what you want to hear but as a long term user of hrt I can advise that 1 week of estrogen would not make you feel worse. It's probably a coincidence and you'd have felt that way without estrogen. It can take weeks for estrogen levels to rise enough to make you feel better and meno drs say give it 3 months.

Although you may feel it made you worse it is unlikely.

Estrogen gel is not 'hormonal' treatment like the Pill because hrt is body-identical- it's made from yams and is exactly the same ( molecular structure) as your own estrogen.

It's lack of estrogen that is making you feel so low and moody.

You really do need to persevere and maybe something like CBT and mindfulness would also help your moods and anxiety- apps like Head space for example?

Do try to persevere and give it a few weeks.

Thank you for your reply.

I am super sensitive to side effects & hormonal treatment& most medications.
I tried the pill & the Mirena & was feeling suicidal within days & had bad headaches & migraines. As soon as I stopped the pill & had the Mirena taken out I felt so much better. I see a psychiatrist for my medications & have to take paediatric doses of my medications as I can’t tolerate the correct dosage.

I might try just one pump instead of 2 & see how I go with that.

Bear in mind that the Pill and the Mirena have synthetic/ artificial hormones in. They are completely different to the HRT you have been given. So you can't compare.

My meno consultant suggested that when I started HRT I used a tiny bit of gel- a pea size- for a week, then increased gradually until I was feeling better. I went up to 1 pump after a couple of weeks, then after a few more weeks went up to 2.

Now, I use between 1 and 2 pumps. On 1 pump I feel okay but after a few days the night sweats come back so then I increase to 2 pumps for a few days.

Thanks I have tried one pump today so I will see how I go.

I have suffered with depression for 28 years & I am usually very stable on my medication. I definitely felt different that week on 2 pumps & by the 3-4 day my mood just plummeted & I was all over the place.

My psychiatrist always starts me on 1/2 a dose of any new medication. I saw a female GP but she didn’t mention trying 1 pump first.

I am getting constant daily headaches & migraines which must be hormonal so I need to try anything to try & stop them.

I had Botox done by a neurologist but that didn’t work.

Update. I tried one pump but after a few days my mood really plummeted again. I could feel I didn’t feel right so stopped it.
I saw my Dr & discussed it with him. The pharmacist had told me 1 pump wasn’t a therapeutic dose.
Is there anything alternative I could try?